For those who are wondering about this machine, it has a system. Basically, it forces you to lose if it doesn't have the payoff price. You will know if it is at it or not by playing and getting to "minor prize". if the machine is at its payoff price, it will skip giving you the option for a minor prize, and make you go for the major one.

Heres a link to the manual for a similar machine called "Stacker." This one lets the owner determine how often it allows a major prize win. Anywhere from 1 in 20 up to 1 in 2500 attempts. Basically, even if you time it perfectly, you still wont win if it hasn't reached those numbers.

A big difference is that the awards are not cash but rather merchandise. This is what differentiates the games in most cases. You could have a "casino" in most jurisdictions that take cash and award prizes for games like slot machines, video poker, black jack, etc. and it would be perfectly fine. No one does that because it would be so lame.

Coincidentally, one of these was just installed at my local Pizza hut. The game is extremely easy. I won a Major prize (BB gift card) just after three attempts. Any attempts afterwards the machine cheated as has been noted. I got back to the top another 8 times and it would "skip" over where I was placing the block to the next one over.
Doesn't seem right that can be done. Isn't that a lottery system?

Hate stacker -.- tried winning something for my girlfriend and ended up throwing about 60€into that thing.
did you ever notice that it lags while playing if you put cash into it ? I tried using that trick in the final stage but hadnt many cash left to figure it out... you know something about that ?

Is this one of those things that has the stuff hanging from wires? My came up with a great way to beat those: cut it with a high-power laser. It never really got past the "Hey you, why are you holding up that big laser to that machine?" phase because those fuckers are big.

I agree. Besides the fact that there is nothing on the box to hang it from the metallic poles inside, they are unwinnable. I came to the final cube, multiple times on a specific machine. I timed it, each time, so perfectly. And then I realized, it will not select the final block location, but only to the blocks either side of it. There is just no way.

This is not true at all (about being unwinnable). I ran an arcade for five years and I'll tell you something... these machines are set to win when a certain amount of money has gone through them. It was usually set to $800, depending on what prizes were in there.

As for your whole timing comment, yup, you're correct. You can line that son of bitch up all you want but if the machine hasn't had "X" amount of dollars in, it will indeed skip the block you need.

Well you can win the shit out of some games that give out tickets that you exchange for prizes. Its very difficult to spend less than the prizes are worth but its possible. But these things, yea, they aren't worth it.

I'm in China and we've been to arcades here like 3 times. A lot of the people go there in groups and pretty much make a business out of playing the arcade.

Some of the people play a machine that earns them more coins. It's a fish-catching game that requires a lot of skill.

The other people play the games that actually win the living shit out of tickets.

So after the second day, I decided to learn from these people. I wanted to rig the system, but I started out simply playing games like normal. My girlfriend likes to play the Chinese Deal or No Deal arcade game (yes, that exists). This was bringing a steady flow of 50 - 150 tickets per game, but nothing to make our money's worth.

I keep wanting to play the fish game, but that's the last thing she wants. She thinks it's too difficult and requires too much skill. So, I leave her.

I'm walking around and see this little girl winning stacks of tickets with a lady--maybe her mom--standing behind her guarding her. I stood there, conspicuous to everyone as the random white guy, and watched her win over 2 thousand tickets. The machine had to be refilled with tickets twice while I watched.

I noticed this little girl was finally about to get off the machine, so I pulled a Chinese-rude-one and stepped all close to them so everyone knew I was about to jump on that machine. As soon as her ass left the seat, I pounced. The machine was mine.

There's nothing like losing over $40 worth of coins while a group of Chinese people watch, expecting you to surpass the little girl's skill. Eventually they all hobbled away, and I had the kind privacy which allowed me to lose in my own pitiful curiosity.

Eventually, through pure determination, I managed to actually hit one of the damned jackpots: 299 tickets in the bank! I immediately deemed myself master of the machine, and ran out of tokens within the next few milliseconds. I ventured to find my girlfriend (still sitting at the Deal or No Deal arcade machine).

So this time we come back in a wolf pack of two to find the little skilled girl on the machine again. Apparently they had been waiting for the white loser to lose his curiosity and determination. My girlfriend and I pulled two Chinese-rude-one's and got right smack dab behind them. We weren't going to miss the show.

I'm standing there like the impatient white guy--ready to satisfy my lust for tickets--when my girlfriend points out that the girl is always playing the machine on the number 16. This is a sort of wheel-spinning machine, with numbers placed on each part of the wheel, with another ferris-wheel in front of it with you only winning any points if you get it through a ferris-wheel and then through a spot in the inner wheel designating you points. Playing requires you to slip in a coin and watch it roll all the slow-ass way down, then either roll through a ferris-wheel cart and into a slot on the inner circle designating you points, or simply falling and not going through a ferris-wheel cart.

So, this girl was always putting in coins when the number 16 was in position, leaving the jackpot a quarter of a turn from the winning position, and all I had to do was practice. Eventually the girl gets off the machine, and as soon as her ass leave the seat, my girlfriend and I both pounced. The machine was ours.

This is the climatic part of the story, where the feel-good music is playing in the background.

After spending a few minutes--a few hundred tokens--perfecting the machine, it was done. I was now the master of the Chinese arcade machine, better than even the little skilled Chinese girl, I liked to believe. After winning the jackpot about ten times, some of the staff started to hover near me. I began to believe that the staff might be involved in the arcade-mafia (the group that makes a living--and more--off of this Chinese arcade). They had obviously gone so far as to get mafia-members hired in their arcade of choice. This, obviously, was a danger to my life.

I'm obviously paranoid, but I ran out of tokens and needed to count my tickets anyway. After counting the tickets, my girlfriend almost had enough for the little purse she wanted. Looking back on it, I think I was actually the one that wanted to earn the purse. My girlfriend still hasn't touched her hard-earned prize. It's still sitting in our closet, unopened.

So we want the purse badly enough to risk our lives to the arcade-mafia. We make our way back to the machine and pull yet another Chinese-rude-one, but this time it was only a little boy of about 3 years and his father; they run out of coins within a minute (sweet victory).

We come back with coins, and I'm in my game. I win the jackpot seven times in a row, and immediately have a group of Chinese people surrounding me. I continue to hit the jackpot almost every other attempt. It was a bloody massacre.

We're out of coins, and we're running out of arm-space for holding the tickets. We make our way back to the ticket counter. We now can afford not only the purse, but also the carrying bag and almost even the backpack. Obviously I want the best for my girlfriend--and not myself, right?--so I mention that we only need 1,000 more tickets to get the backpack. We buy 24 more tokens, and prepare to destroy the machine.

When we come back, no one was stupid enough to be on the machine. They could see the look of determination in our eyes, and after our last slaughter there was no one silly enough to try and stop us. The arcade mafia stood back and watched.

I had never thought it was possible to hit the jackpot so many times in 24 attempts. It began to get depressing, thinking about how much money the place was losing on my abilities. I hit the jackpot over 15 times, screaming between each one, while my girlfriend played the loyal role of ticket-master.

We make it back to the ticket counter a third time, and I notice the staff members look of boredom. She obviously was trying to not look sad. I was obviously stealing this girls innocence with my massive load of tickets.

We got the backpack, and even managed to get three more items with our treasure: two snappy wrist bands, and glow in the dark poker cards. The walk out of that arcade was the most satisfying walk in my life. The arcade mafia simply stood in a line and watched as I made my victorious way out of their corrupt establishment. There was only one winner that night.

Looking back on it, though, I spent over $100 for a cheap-ass backpack.

As someone who's worked at an arcade: It's actually impossible to spend less than the prizes are worth. As an example: the Skee-Ball machine at the arcade I worked for had a maximum payout of 25 tickets. Each ticket was worth about 1 penny, given the retail cost of the prize.

Except nothing in the store was purchased at retail prices. That really cool 10,000 ticket prize? The one you could buy at Spencer's Gifts for $100? Cost us $25.

We made 80% of our profit on redemption games. The other 20% came from the snack bar. The video games? Some of them lost money.

I can only speak for my arcade. We didn't have anything like that in our redemption store. We did have video games (available for redemption tickets), and believe me, even at the margins of video games (we would pay $45 for a current title) we were still making a killing.

Maybe not all arcades run the profit level as high as we did. However, I can assure you, it was the profit center where I worked.

Very dishonest indeed but head office wanted those machines in there. Funny thing is that actual pinball and video game machines earned a lot more than these "prize" machines.

A little secret:
Arcades put prize machines at the FRONT of the store to lure kids in. Adults will always go for the video games, that's a given. Don't have to worry about the adults coming into play. But the prize machines are there to get kids in the store.

Also, those claw machines with the plush toys pay out in the same way as the machine OP posted.

Actually, its based on how much money it's earned, so basically the first x number people have no chance to get anything (it IS rigged) but after it reaches it's quota it allows for people to win.

The way to win is to keep an eye on a frequently used machine, and wait for other people to play which they will obviously not win, after x amount of people have played it (depends on the machine because it can be set to x amount), go play it multiple times. The idea is to let the other people pay for the quota, then you come and collect the reward (still takes some skill)

Funny thing is, those machines are programmed to give out one of those prizes about every $400 dollars they take in. There's no skill involved. It is literally impossible to win until it has a certain amount of money since the last win and then it slows down and lets someone win. That way when someone says it doesn't work, someone can say "No. So and so won a PSP in it the other day." and it appears that the machine is actually beatable.

I use it as a USB drive. Remember its proprietary memory stick format? The memory stick that worked in absolutely nothing EXCEPT a PSP (and probably some other sony devices that no one ever used?)

Well I have a gigabyte or two of those. And I can't find a card reader for them anywhere except ebay, because I guess they're just never used anymore (and even if they are, I wouldn't ever pay for one, no matter how cheap). So my PSP is a huge flashdrive that doesn't hold 1/16th of what my microsd card can (which is smaller than my fingernail)

Dude me too... I always try to beat the game without adding a continue and find myself severely fucked at the final stage in space. All those interceptors come at you and at that point I usually just don't have enough life and they toast me... ah well.

Beating the whole game even on 1 continue feels incredibly satisfying.

considering at is a 1st gen psp with the expanded battery and he just posted, that is ether a very old pic (but there is a newer COD game in it) so he won it or he pulled it as an employee, there is no other viable solution.

The PSP 1000 is a little more serviceable, but the 2000 is better built overall and less likely to break down in the first place. Also, the D-pad on the 2000 is much better if you have to hit diagonals (fighters, 8-way shooters, etc.)

I don't have a PSP, but I do have a DSi that I've had since the day it came out. I'm a middle aged lady, it lives in my purse when not charging and I've pretty much played it every single day without fail. I love that thing. I have an iphone, which has games, I know, but I prefer to play with a stylus and I like the variety of games. I do get odd looks sometimes when playing a quick game of something whilst waiting in line or waiting for food to arrive if I'm eating alone at a restaurant.

Sometimes I get to talk to kids who are playing with their handhelds too and talk about what games they like. How else am I going to find out what games to play? As a female, no one blinks an eye if I talk to a kid - it would probably seem creepy to parents if an adult male did the same thing, which I find incredibly sad. Kids have a lot of interesting observations about the world when not treated like idiots.

my friend once won a nintendo ds in one of those machines in his first go. There was then a queue at that machine all night, every kid there then thought they could win. including my very jealous self.